A contactless interface for a beverage dispenser including a sensor and circuitry. The sensor has a field of view and is configured to sense an object located in a detection zone of the sensor. The detection zone is an area within the field of view and at a distance less than a maximum detection distance from the sensor. The circuitry is configured to output a detection signal while the object is sensed within the detection zone. The detection signal is an electrical signal.

A drink dispensing device including one or more processors, a drink dispensing item located above a drink container positioning area, and a first sensor to determine when a drink container is located in the drink container positioning area, where the one or more processors initiate a drink container filling operation based on a first signal from the first sensor that the drink container is located in the drink container positioning area.

Systems, apparatuses, and methods are provided herein for monitoring beverage dispenser. A system for controlling beverage quality comprises a beverage dispenser monitoring unit comprising: a plurality of weight sensors each positioned below one of a plurality of syrup containers connected to a beverage dispenser, and a first network adapter configured to communicate with a control unit. The control unit configured to detect a low weight reading from a weight sensor of the plurality of weight sensors of the beverage dispenser monitoring unit via the second network adapter, determine a syrup container of the plurality of syrup containers associated with the weight sensor, and provide a notification of low syrup level indicating the syrup container to at least one of the plurality of user interface devices.

A new and improved touchless flowable product dispenser which is to be utilized to reduce the amount of bacteria and germs transmitted when a customer wishes to dispense a flowable product, such as, for example, various condiments into a container. This invention allows large quantities of the flowable product to be stored and dispensed without customer contact, thereby reducing the risk of germ and bacteria transmission inside of a restaurant, particularly during infectious disease events or calendar seasons.

A switch system for controlling dispensing from a dispensing system. A frame is coupleable to the dispensing system and has a front and back. A lever extends between a pivot and pressing ends and is pivotally coupled to the frame, being pivotable between dispensing and non-dispensing positions. A resilient member between the lever and the back of the frame extends between an anchor and a contact region. The anchor region is coupled to the frame and the contact region is closer than the anchor region to the lever. A roller is pivotally coupled to the contact region. The resilient member biases the lever towards the non-dispensing position via the roller. An electronic switch is between the lever and the back of the frame. The electronic switch is actuated to cause dispensing when the lever is pivoted into the dispensing position.

The present disclosure relates generally to a beverage nucleator system that can initiate ice crystal nucleation by application of a directed flow of pressurized gas to the exterior of the fluid container containing a supercooled beverage. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a beverage nucleator system for a supercooled beverage container which may include a frame having a beverage container aperture for receiving a beverage container therein and a gas outlet positioned within the beverage container aperture for directing a flow of pressurized gas at a beverage container received therein.

Disclosed are a water purifier and a control method thereof for controlling a main body by executing an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm or a machine learning algorithm in a 5G environment established for the Internet of things. The control method of the water purifier according to the present disclosure includes a photographing step, a scanning step, a recognizing step, a calculating step, a determining step, and a water discharging step. When the water discharging step is initiated, the distance sensor generates real-time height information on the water surface, and may stop discharging water before a real-time height exceeds the highest point height.

A variable ice dispenser for a refrigerator utilizes a variable control suitable for varying the rate of ice dispensing by the dispenser. In some instances, the variable control includes a variable control actuator that is movable between a range of positions including a home position, and movement of the variable control actuator in a first direction from the home position causes the variable ice dispenser to dispense cubed ice while movement of the variable control actuator in a second direction from the home position causes the variable ice dispenser to dispense crushed ice. Further, in some instances, the variable control may also selectively activate the ice dispenser such that the variable control actuator controls the ice dispensing rate while the variable ice dispenser is activated. In addition, in some instances, a variable control may also include a secondary control that switches between ice and water dispensing modes.

Disclosed are embodiments of a beverage dispensing system that controls the flow of beverage based on information acquisitioned from a marker associated with a vessel for the beverage. The system utilizes a switching apparatus located in the tap of the dispensing unit that can selectively enable mechanical connection between the hand lever of the tap and the stem based on the information acquisitioned. Some embodiments include a hand tilt device for automatically controlling the flow of beverage, and a vessel tilt device to adjusting the tilt of the vessel so as to achieve a preferred pour.

A refrigeration appliance apparatus has an appliance body and an appliance door delimiting a refrigeration chamber. A water-dispensing unit is disposed on a side wall of the appliance body or appliance door. The water-dispensing unit has a guide for dispensing water and at least one actuating unit.